Revision+-+Human+Rights+&+Discrimination

=Possible Exam questions:= 
 * 1)  Human Rights gets in the way of serving justice to law-offenders who deserve it. - Stanley
 * 2)  Is the present interest in human rights issues a phenomenon of the social and intellectual history of western Europe or does it represent a developmental stage in the political and economic evolution of human societies? - Chieh Loong
 * 3)  What is the distinction between protecting and promoting human rights? - Chieh Loong
 * 4)  Are violations of human rights only perpetrated by governments? - Chieh Loong
 * 5)  Can human rights ever serve as a valid reason to lessen the punishments on criminals?-Brian
 * 6)  Discuss the rights of women since the start of 20th century. -Brian
 * 7)  How true is it that the number of people without human rights is on the decrease? -Jin Jie
 * 8)  "It is //IMPOSSIBLE// for human rights to be upheld all the time." Do you agree? Discuss. -Isaac
 * 9)  How far do you agree that LEDCs are more prone to human rights violations than MEDCs? -Isaac
 * 10)  Has the human rights issue been undermined by the quest for the development of science and technology in recent times? - Jin Jie
 * 11) How has crime and punishments today put people in the way of human rights violation and discrimination? --Jia Wei
 * 12) Humans are the sole contributors to global warming. Suggest how this situation can be salvaged without violating human rights. -Jia Wei
 * 13) Because of improvements in technologies, humans are now able to alter babies' genes to create the "perfect" baby. How has this caused human rights violations?-Jia Wei

= = =Discrimination= from amnesty international http://www.amnesty.org/en/discrimination

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Video) media type="youtube" key="KpvbO6LSVbM" width="425" height="350"


 * __Discrimination(Definition)__**
 * an assault of human rights
 * the systematic denial of certain peoples' or groups' full human rights because of who they are or what they believe.
 * non-discrimination to be the basis of the Universal Declaration of Human rights.


 * Key facts**

International law guarantees human rights to all without distinctions based on:
 * race
 * colour
 * sex
 * language
 * religion
 * political opinion
 * other opinion
 * national or social origin
 * property
 * birth or other status


 * Governments are obliged to:**
 * take essential measures to ensure the right of all to be free from discrimination
 * must repeal discriminatory legislation which facilitates human rights abuses and denies equal access to justice
 * must provide effective protection against violence in the broader community
 * The laws and institutions of the state must address the root causes of discrimination, rather than replicating or fomenting it for political ends


 * Direct discrimination**
 * is the less favourable or detrimental treatment of an individual or group of individuals on the basis of a prohibited characteristic or ground such as race or gender.


 * Indirect discrimination**
 * occurs when a practice, rule, requirement or condition is appears to be neutral but impacts disproportionately upon particular individuals or groups, unless that practice, rule, requirement or condition is justified.
 * Governments are required to take account of relevant differences between groups in order to prevent indirect discrimination.

__**Case Studies**__

__//1. Romani children in Slovakia are being denied the right to a proper education//__
 * Huge numbers of children are being segregated into Roma-only schools, while others are being placed in 'special' schools despite not having any mental or learning disabilities.
 * Amnesty International is calling on the Slovakian government to reverse discrimination in education by eradicating segregated education of Roma
 * European Union to provide the necessary financial and technical assistance

__2.__ //__Amnesty International is campaigning to Stop Violence Against Women__//
 * US government’s failure to protect Indigenous women from sexual violence has generated several government hearings, raised money to save a shelter for survivors of sexual violence
 * ensured that Indigenous women’s human rights defenders were represented in the media in the USA.

__3.__ //__Police abuse and misconduct against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the USA__//
 * In 2006, Amnesty International documented the gender-based violence, sometimes amounting to torture and ill-treatment, that lesbians, gay men, bisexual and transgender individuals face in the USA, even after decades of human rights campaigning.

//__4. A violation of human rights in Singapore__//
 * Singapore is a destination country for women and girls who are trafficked from Thailand, the Philippines, the People’s Republic of China, and Indonesia for commercial sexual and labour exploitation.
 * Some women voluntarily migrate to Singapore to work as prostitutes but are later coerced into sexual servitude.
 * Singapore does not have a law specific to anti-trafficking, however, it has many laws to prosecute, protect, and prevent human trafficking, specifically the Women’s Charter, the Children and Young Persons’ Act, and the Penal Code.
 * The Penal Code criminalizes most forms of trafficking, but does not criminalize the use of 16 and 17 year old children used in prostitution.

__5.The China Brick Kiln Slaves__
 * The slaves were captured and treated as lesser beings.
 * The slaves were beaten, maimed, burnt and deprived of food.
 * Workers were forced to work for hours on end for seven days a week, and were not paid.
 * Many of the slaves captured were in fact children, the youngest just eight years old.

__6. Abu Ghraib Prison__
 * Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq
 * Prison where Iraqis are held
 * Previously used by Saddam Hussein as a prison where mass executions took place.
 * Not all people in prison have committed crimes. Most are innocent.
 * Estimated 90% of detainees in the prison were innocent.
 * Some inmates are not even questioned

__7. Myanmar__
 * Thousands of men, women, children and elderly are forced to work against their will by the administration, those refusing to work may be victims of torture, rape or death
 * Search citizens’ homes, intercept mail, monitor telephone conversations. Use of telephones, fax machines, computers, modems and software are criminalized
 * Civilians in Shan State are gang-rapes, raped within military bases, or detained and raped repeatedly; Rape is officially a ‘weapon of war’ against the civilian population in Shan State
 * Estimated 70,000 soldiers in the country are children; Widespread child labour